A Study of Bacteriological Quality of Street-Hawked Milk in Ilesha Metroplolis, Osun State, Nigeria

Milk, a nutrient-rich liquid food produced in the mammary glands of mammals, contains low bacterial counts when it leaves the udder, but it may get contaminated from the environment, exterior of udder, water, soil, milkers' hands and utensils. Contamination can serve as a source of spread of certain harmful human bacterial diseases like tuberculosis, diphtheria, salmonellosis and food poisoning if consumed in raw form. This study, therefore, was designed to evaluate bacteriological quality of milk samples collected from various localities within Ilesha metropolis. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty (20) samples of fresh raw milk were collected in sterilized bottles from various nomadic milk hawkers in Ilesha. Methylene blue reductase test, standard plate count on standard plate count agar and isolation of possible pathogens using selective culture media was carried out on the samples. RESULTS Of the 20 samples of raw milk collected for bacteriological analysis, 3 samples were found to be of excellent quality, 5 were very good, 4 were good, 5 were fair and 3 were of poor quality. The actual standard plate count for excellent and very good quality ranged between 33-54 and 62 - 80 colony forming units (cfu). The organisms isolated and biochemically characterized from the raw milk samples were found contaminated with Escherichia coli (4 strains), Staphylococcus aureus (8 strains), Streptococcus pyogenes (5 strains), Streptococcus agalactiae (3 strains) and Enterobacter aerogenes (5 strains). African Journal of Health Sciences Volume 34, Issue No.4, July- August 2021 476 CONCLUSION The results obtained from this study showed that the milk sold in raw form could be hazardous to human health if sold without adopting hygienic measures

Assessment of medication knowledge among adults with diabetes mellitus in a Nigerian teaching hospital

Background: Previous research had suggested a relationship between patients' knowledge of their medications and their adherence to treatment instructions.Objective: To assess medication knowledge among adults with diabetes mellitus at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu, Ogun State.Methods: This was a cross sectional study of 152 adults with either Type-1 or Type-2 diabetes mellitus attending the Diabetes Clinic of the OOUTH. A two-part questionnaire was used to collect data on demography and knowledge of their medications.Results: Out of the one hundred and fifty two respondents, 60.5% were females and majority, (50.7%) fell within the 60-79 years age group. Majority (76.3%) of the patients reported very good medication knowledge, 32% and 46.1% knew the names and number of all the drugs they were taking respectively. Majority (96.1%) were aware they were receiving treatment for diabetes mellitus. The pharmacist was rated as the main information provider by 38.8% while 50.7% were not satisfied with their level of glycaemic control. Although 32.2% agreed that the information provided made available to them was sufficient, 71.1% preferred medication instructions in both written and verbal forms. Conclusions: The present study revealed the need for adequate and appropriate information for patients receiving care for diabetes mellitus to enable them engage in effective self-care management of their ailment

Success of the Control of Tuberculosis in Nigeria: a Review

Tuberculosis (TB) has emerged as the single leading cause of death from any single infectious agent and has continued to be a major public health problem all over the world. Of the over 14 million cases worldwide reported by World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2008; Nigeria ranked fifth in terms of incidence. Depending on the prevailing social factors such as socio-economic status of the people; malnutrition; crowded living conditions; incidence of HIV/AIDS; level of development of health infrastructures; quality of available control programmes; degree of drug resistance to anti-tuberculous agents; etc; prevalence; patterns of presentation; and outcomes of treatment from TB can vary from one country to another and from one region of a country to the other. Attempts to deal with the problems of the disease led to the development of Directly Observed Treatment Short Course (DOTS) by WHO in 1995; and more recently the Stop TB strategy in 2006. In Nigeria; the DOTS programme has been implemented in all States and local government areas in the country and 3;000 DOTS centres have been operating across the country since 2006. This article reviewed the available information on the success of the control of TB in Nigeria has observed a significant improvement in TB detection and treatment. However; neither the set target for the detection rate nor the cure rate have been achieved nationally as several challenges have militated against the effective implementation of the DOTS programme

HIV/AIDS : Related Knowledge and Sexual Behaviour among Secondary School Students in Benin City

Purpose: The high prevalence of HIV/AIDS amongst African youths has been a major problem in recent times; particularly in Nigeria where over 5of the population is at risk of the disease. We undertook to assess HIV/AIDS related knowledge and sexual behaviour among secondary school students in Benin City. Methods: In a cross-sectional study using a 59-item self-administered questionnaire; a survey was carried out among 1917 students (48.7male and 51.3female; age: 11-24 years) systematically selected from 13 secondary schools in Benin City to assess HIV/AIDS related knowledge and sexual behaviour. Results: Awareness of HIV/AIDS was high. Misconceptions about the cause and spread was very high (91.4and 93.1of respondents; respectively). The knowledge on prevention was poor as only 40.4of the respondents knew how to avoid contacting HIV/AIDS. While 9.1of the students indicated ever having sex (with 67.4of them using condom before sex); only 2.4engaged in commercial sex. Some of the males (4.2) are homosexuals. As many as 5.8of the youths (and 12.4of those who had done HIV test in the preceding 12 months) were HIV positive. Conclusion: Despite the various educational efforts to address the problems of HIV/AIDS; the knowledge of secondary school students in Benin City is still poor and the adolescents still engage in risky behavours. This calls for educational intervention that will impact in-depth knowledge about HIV/AIDS among the youths who are at the center of HIV/AIDS pandemic